Reacting to Roger Federer’s first ever withdrawal from a Grand Slam at the Roland Garros this year, Spain’s Rafael Nadal consider his absence as a “negative news” to the tennis world.

Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, failed to recover from a back injury in time, thereby compelling him to miss out on his first ever major after 65 consecutive appearances.

The Spaniard, therefore, considers it a huge loss for the tournament and the fans, but also adds that it won’t affect him personally.

“I think for me it is not changing much [without Federer]. But I understand that for the fans, for the tournament, for the world of tennis in general it is very negative news,” Nadal was quoted as saying by Yahoo Sports.

He continued: “But the same happened with Madrid and with Indian Wells, Miami, with Dubai. Every tournament that a big player like him is not able to play is negative news for the world of tennis.”

Federer, 34, has featured in just four tournaments in 2016 season with a substandard record of 11-4. He’s next scheduled to return at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart that begins from June 6.